-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A pregnant bartender says she is fighting to keep her job at a gentlemen 's club in New York .

Jennifer Paviglianiti , of Centereach , N.Y. , claims her employer , Café Royale , discriminated against her because of her pregnancy . She filed a claim with the EEOC earlier this month .

Paviglianiti says she feared how her boss would react to her pregnancy and wanted to wait a few months to tell him . However , John Doxey found out before she could tell him , and that 's when Paviglianiti claims her job became threatened .

Up until she became pregnant , the 29-year-old says she had been one of the club 's most popular bartenders . Read the complaint

She says she `` bonused 9 times '' since August and it was only toward the end of her pregnancy that she asked for different hours .

Due to the tough economy , Paviglianiti says she needed this specific bartending job and feared she 'd soon be out of work . To protect herself , she decided to secretly record her boss on tape .

On those recordings Doxey can be heard saying , `` Customers do n't wan na come in and see a pregnant woman behind the bar ! '' These recordings were also submitted in her EEOC discrimination claim .

In other recordings , Doxey is heard suggesting that Paviglianiti 's appearance is hurting business . `` Maybe they do n't go there because the bartender is pregnant and does n't look sexy . ''

Workplace attorney Robin Bond said it 's within Doxey 's right to do this if employees were informed that they had to maintain a specific `` sexy look '' to qualify for the job .

In this case , that means Paviglianiti would have had to be hired as a `` model and a bartender '' and get a written agreement to this -- as is done in the casino industry , Bond said on HLN Prime News with Mike Galanos .

When asked by Galanos if she signed any paperwork of that sort , Paviglianiti said , `` not at all ... nothing . ''

Paviglianiti was taken off the bartending schedule for a few weeks , during which she hired an attorney . She later returned to the club as a cashier but claims she made much less than she did as a bartender .

However , Doxey 's attorney says this proves she was never fired and her job duties were only adjusted to accommodate her pregnancy .

`` My client declines to comment on pending legal action except to say it considers that Ms. Paviglianiti allegations are without merit , '' attorney Robert F. Milman said in a statement . `` Ms. Paviglianiti was not terminated from her employment , she presently is on maternity leave and she has the right to return to work upon the conclusion of her leave . ''

Paviglianiti is due to have a baby girl this week .

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Jennifer Paviglianiti says boss reduced hours , put her on cashier because of pregnancy

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In EEOC complaint , Paviglianiti , 29 , says she is making less money because of demotion

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`` Maybe -LSB- customers -RSB- do n't go there because the bartender is pregnant , '' boss says in recording

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Boss ' attorney says her job duties were adjusted to accommodate her pregnancy